Discounts, offers, hot sales…. These are the words that come up when you think of Black Friday. Yet, there’s also a dark side that’s linked with this famous shopping day.
Every year, flocks of people gather at the front of the stores, waiting hours before their opening, in order to grab as many products on sale as possible.
Because of this, Black Friday isn’t only known for the great sales and offers, but also for the true stories that have happened during this celebration that usually takes place after Thanksgiving.
There’s been a tendency in which people share their nightmare experiences, whether they witnessed it or ended up getting involved, by uploading videos of customers fighting, the chaos inside the stores, or even shoppers waiting on a huge line in spite of being exposed to extreme weathers.
Here are some of the most outrageous Black Friday stories.
Stabbing occurs over a Walmart parking space
In November of 2013, the news covered the arrest of two people after a man was stabbed at a Walmart in Claypool Hill, Virginia. The reason? The men disputed over a parking space.
According to local TV WVVA, Ronnie Sharp and Christopher Jackson, who were at that time 61 and 35 years old respectively, got into a violent fight at Walmart’s parking lot.
The scene escalated quickly up to the point that Sharp pulled out a knife and cut Jackson’s arm. The injury “went down to the bone”, as reported by WVVA.
Both men were taken into custody by the police. After being treated at a local hospital, Jackson was charged with disorderly conduct and assault and battery. Meanwhile, Sharp was accused of malicious wounding and wielding a firearm, since the police confiscated him a rifle with which he supposedly threatened Jackson.
Stun gun used inside a mall
The scene occurred at approximately 2:30 a.m. inside Franklin Mills Mall in Northeast Philadelphia. Two women engaged in a fight and started to throw punches at each other. The quarrel was caught on video by Mike Napolitano, who was interviewed by NBC.
“Nothing I’ve ever seen before”, said Napolitano. “I was just nervous, but I just kept filming ’cause I knew it was going to be a good video”.
He also mentioned that the women weren’t the only ones involved in the fight, for their respective couples were also quarreling. This was seen in the video’s background. However, they weren’t the main focus since the ladies’ violent dispute overshadowed the guys. Once they’ve hit the ground, a mass of sparks sprouted between their bodies, and a crackling sound overshadowed their shouts.
Apparently, one of the women was carrying a stun gun, which she didn’t hesitate to use. After that, some of the shoppers got in to separate the women moments before the malls’ guards came. “Then security came over and I kinda left, you know. I was thinking, ‘God forbid if somebody has a gun or something ”, shared Napolitano.
Later on, the mall’s general manager, John Ahle, made a statement in which he confirmed that the women were escorted outside of the mall and that they wouldn’t tolerate this type of behavior. Meanwhile, Franklin Mills Mall, which opened on Black Friday’s midnight, remained accesible for 18 hours.
Village gets ‘trapped’ by Black Friday shoppers
Traffic jam is on the list of things everyone dislikes because of how it affects our daily lives. What if I need to be at a certain place on time but can’t simply jump the car that’s in front of me? Is it just me or is the red light against me? How long am I going to be stuck in here?
These were a few examples of the scenarios that occurred in an Oxfordshire town. Yet, what caused this traffic jam wasn’t what one usually tends to encounter on a common day. The reason behind this was the fact that had to do with Black Friday shoppers.
Bicester Village, a shopping outlet located on the town’s outskirts, tweeted that access to the place was temporarily closed ‘due to congestion.
How bad was it? Well, the village’s roads were crammed, the police had to help in order to “try and alleviate the pressure”, traffic movement evolved into a ‘one in, one out’ pattern (a.k.a. one could enter after one person finally left the site), and a temporary car park had to be set up.
People got pepper-sprayed at an L.A. Walmart
Another item used for riot control and self-denfese comes up. Only this time, 10-20 people were affected.
At a Walmart in L.A., the Black Friday’s frenzy started to spread among the shoppers. Their main goal was to obtain discounted Xbox video game players offered by the store. Suddenly, a woman started pepper-spraying some buyers in order to get closer to the cases, according to Police Sgt. Jose Valle in the coverage of ABC News.
Los Angeles Times reported that the woman was able to pay for her purchases. However, the story doesn’t end there. The next day, she turned herself to the police and was pressed with charges. Yet, after being released, she threatened to sue Walmart protesting that the establishment didn’t provide enough security.
Her lawyer told CBS News that her actions were to protect her teenage children, who were punched and kicked by the shoppers as they tried to get the X-Box. On the other hand, other witnesses who were sprayed described that many faces were red and needed to call an ambulance. They claimed that the experience was a “barbaric scene that they would never forget”.
Cover photo: Powhusku
